Minister defends her authority
The bill is largely technical, and brings the principal act in line with the Electronic Communications Act and the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) Act but also confirms the power of the minister to create policy for the postal industry.
Matsepe-Casaburri said the bill would ensure postal regulation was transferred from the department to Icasa, the independent institution with powers of regulation over telecommunications and broadcasting as well.
But Democratic Alliance communications spokeswoman Dene Smuts said prior legislative amendments had already achieved this transfer of regulation to Icasa. Smuts said the bill would reassign to the minister the power to decide when reserved, nonelectronic services would be opened up for competition, whereas this power should reside with Icasa.
In terms of the bill, the minister will be able to review the exclusivity of the Post Office every five years instead of the current three years. The memorandum to the bill stated that the minister should have the authority to extend the exclusivity period of the Post Office as long as this was required to achieve universal access to postal services, especially in underserviced areas.
“I don’t know why the minister is always fighting legislative battles with us to expand her policy-setting powers, because she does not produce policy,” Smuts said.
Inkatha Freedom Party communications spokeswoman Suzanne Vos also said she found the powers assigned to the minister “problematic”.
But Matsepe-Casaburri said she found the preoccupation with ministerial powers “very, very strange” seeing that they had never been abused.
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